[License-review] License Review: IDCIYMI-1.0 (I Don't Care If You Mod It)

[Carlo Piana]

Dear Bernardo, 

I notice that the most relevant change to the MIT is the removal of the

> and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions

part. This is the "sublicensing" permission. I am not sure a sublicensing permission is required, since the later users of the software can derive this permission from the original licensing, however they would receive the software, without the need to receive it as an effect of the last distribution. But I don't quite get the rationale of having a new MIT-style license which leaves this implicit. Has a lawyer performed any kind of assessment here? Why?

Moreover, the addition of aspirational language in legal text, especially without a clear indication that this is not legal text, is IMHO a source of potentially confusing language, and is for sure an invitation to create more proliferation and entropy. Have you have ever tried to perform an OSS compliance audit on any piece of software only to find the umpteenth license to clear for no reason at all, but nonetheless requiring human intervention -- as it is slightly different from allo others? This is a total waste of time and energy and I personally invite all submitters NOT to do that unless there are really compelling legal reasons, or proof of widespread adoption, both totally absent here.

I take the view that this license does not meet the requirements for being added to the list of officially approved licenses, although per se does not seem to violate any OSD rule, at a cursory evaluation.

Cheers

Carlo, in his personal capacity.


     

----- Messaggio originale -----
> Da: "PTFS" <pfts.offical at gmail.com>
> A: "license-review at lists.opensource.org" <license-review at lists.opensource.org>
> Inviato: Sabato, 10 gennaio 2026 14:14:18
> Oggetto: [License-review] License Review: IDCIYMI-1.0 (I Don't Care If You Mod It)

> Dear OSI License Review Committee,
> I am formally submitting the "I Don't Care If You Mod It" (IDCIYMI) license,
> version 1.0, for official approval as an Open Source license.

>     1. License Text

> ========================================================
> IDCIYMI License (I Don't Care If You Mod It)
> Copyright (c) 2026 [Name]
> Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
> of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
> in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
> to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
> copies of the Software.
> The only condition is that the above copyright notice and this permission
> notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
> CREATOR NOTE:
> [Add your note here. For example: "I built this for the community—please mod it
> and share what you create!"]
> THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
> IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
> FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
> AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
> LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
> OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE.
> ==============================================

>    1. Rationale The IDCIYMI license fills a unique social gap by standardizing a
>    "Creator Note" field within a permissive legal framework. While legally similar
>    to MIT, it provides a dedicated space for authors to express their intent and
>    encouragement for modifications without introducing legally binding
>    restrictions that would violate the OSD. This fosters a culture of remixing and
>     open collaboration.
>    2. Open Source Definition (OSD) Affirmation I affirmatively state that this
>     license complies with the Open Source Definition. Specifically:

>     *
> OSD 3 (Derived Works): It explicitly permits modifications and sublicensing.
>    * OSD 5 & 6 (No Discrimination): The license and its "Creator Note" are
>     structured to ensure no groups or fields of endeavor are restricted.
>    * OSD 9 (License Must Not Restrict Other Software): It does not restrict other
>     software distributed with it.

>     1.
> Stewardship I, Bernardo Hora, am the steward of this license.
>    2. Existing Usage Since I do not use GitHub, the license and the software using
>     it can be found at the following public locations:

> site : [ https://idciymi.neocities.org/ | https://idciymi.neocities.org/ ] (the
> site is in wip)

> _______________________________________________
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